The present invention relates to a domestic cooking appliance and more particularly to vent systems for ovens wherein a cooktop, including surface units, is arranged over the oven. The appliance has a first vertical oven vent conduit communicating with the oven and a second vertical conduit in the form of a surface unit assembly located above the first duct but horizontally offset therefrom so that inadvertent spillage into the surface unit assembly will not pass through the first vertical vent conduit. Accordingly, an offset adapter duct is employed to join the top end of the first vertical conduit and the lower end of the second vertical conduit.
In ranges employing an offset adapter duct it is customary to arrange it so that it may be removed for cleaning due to spillage or other overflow which may contaminate the area between the first and second vertical conduits. One disadvantage to this procedure is that some people have experienced difficulties in being able to reassemble the adapter duct in its proper orientation relative to the offset vertical conduits once it has been removed for cleaning. This difficulty in replacing the adapter duct in its proper orientation relative to the first and second vertical conduits causes some people to discard or not replace the adapter duct. The absence of an adapter duct or in the event it is arranged so that the first and second vertical conduits are not vertically aligned may cause damage in the area between the vertical conduits due to the accumulation of condensation and also a safety problem may be present if this oven is a high temperature, pyrolytic, self-cleaning oven where the oven exhaust gases might reach temperatures approaching 1,000.degree. F. and these relatively hot gases are not directed to the second vertical conduit. The absence of the adapter duct might in some instances allow the oven exhaust gases to spread out under the range cooktop and discharge the oven soils and greases onto the electrical components of the range. Moreover, the cooktop might become overheated and cause inadvertent burns to the user of the range during operation of the oven.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide an oven vent system with an adapter duct arrangement in which the user visually ascertains proper positioning thereof.